Microsoft ups XBox 360 shipments

Microsoft is doubling or tripling the number of XBoxes it will send out to retailers every week. It has added a third manufacturer - Celestica - and has got a solid supply of components.

"Microsoft will distribute two to three times the number of Xbox 360 consoles to the retail channel weekly," the company said in a statement. But the software giant refused to give figures on how many boxes it actually ships.

Microsoft says it is on course to hit its target of shipping between 4.5m and 5.5m units by June 30 - it had to cut the original target of selling up to 3m units in the first 90 days after the November launch.

The company also claimed that Xbox 360 users have downloaded some 10m pieces of content from Xbox Live. New games coming this season including a new Tom Clancy title, the latest edition of Lara Croft's Tomb Raider and Road to FIFA World Cup. ®